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James Bond-based fitness classes start in Toronto

A local fitness trainer promises it’s possible to get Bond’s famously fit physique with a new workout that involves seven secret-agent worthy moves.

Brent Bishop, a personal trainer and owner of Think Fitness Studios on Bloor St. W., created the workout, called Drop the Last 007. Classes begin Wednesday, just in time for the new Bond film, Skyfall, in theatres Friday.

“I was inspired by the Bond films because of the hardcore types of activity Bond does. He climbs up cranes, jumps off buildings; it requires a lot of your body,” Bishop said. He says he wanted to create a workout that would prepare someone to be ready for anything, the way Bond has to be.

The routine plays off the number seven: “My whole concept is there are seven exercises in the routine,” Bishop says.

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He says that if people complete the workout seven times — every other day for two weeks — and follow a sensible diet, they’ll lose seven pounds.

“It’s extremely challenging. It involves a high metabolic demand; your heart rate is going non-stop unit you’re done. The point is to do it as quickly as possible,” Bishop says.

The seven moves are done in sequence, so they become one flowing movement. All the exercises involve a full range of motion, and they’re also compound movements.

One move involves a jump squat with weights repeatedly; another makes the participant summersault into a core movement over and over again.

He says the workout is unique because it’s so challenging, it forces the participant to tap into a mental focus — the kind of focus he thinks is crucial for Bond to do his job well.

The program will run for about a month after Skyfall’s release on Nov. 9. It’s offered on a one-on-one basis and in small classes at his studio. Video versions are also available online for $35.

Bishop warns that he won’t train beginners because of the difficulty level of the exercises — no matter how much secret agent experience they may have.

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